Open-World Design - Blood Omen - Legacy of Kain: The Lost Worlds

Open-World Design

According to Amy Hennig, Blood Omen was originally designed as a mostly non-linear game, in which the player could choose to fight the Pillar guardians in any order.^[1] Consequently, most of the world map would have been at least technically accessible from the beginning of the game. When the design was reworked into a more linear story, numerous changes had to be made to keep the player on track.

Remnants of the open-world design are especially noticeable in the build of the game from 12 July, 1996:

Paths Which Were Later Removed

Elzevir's House is Accessible from Dark Eden

A Path Leads East from Nachtholm

A Path Leads West From The Unknown Outpost

This Mist Form Lake Leads Nowhere

Footnotes

1.	Consider the design of the early Mega Man / Rockman games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The player may play through the levels in any order desired, although certain combinations are easier than others.

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Alternate World Maps
Alpha and Beta Versions